Pokémon Z - The Kalos Chronicles
by GunnerDragon
Summary: In the Kalos Region, former Junior Champion Calem has turned into a shut-in. An opportunity for adventure will force him to change his ways, as he travels with Serena, Tierno, Trevor, and Shauna. Will he be able to live up to his potential and become Champion? Will the group be able to foil Team Flare and their dastardly plans? Inspired by the XY Manga, based on the games.
1. Welcome To The World of Pokémon

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. I'm just using characters, games, materials, etc for the purpose of this story.

 **Pokémon Z – The Kalos Chronicles**

 **Chapter One**

"Unbelievable!"

The commentators voiced echoed throughout the stadium as Calem leaped at his Larvitar, holding his partner tightly in a warm embrace. The audience finally realised what they had just witnessed. This small boy with black hair and bright blue eyes had just one the Friendship Cup. A six-year-old who was barely big enough to fit into his blue jacket with white stripes was the winner. After a moment, they burst into applause. The yellow interior of the stadium started to shake with the noise.

"Simply incredible!" The commentator yelled. "This boy has all the talent in the world, no doubt about it. It's not a question of whether he'll go far; it's simply a matter of how far he will be able to. He could make a fine Gym Leader….. No, even better. An Elite Four Member! And now, the host, Lysandre, is making his way over to present the boy with his trophy."

Calem let go of Larvitar long enough to see the tall man approaching. He had orange hair and kind eyes. His face looked like it would split in half, he was grinning so much. He shook Calem's hand as he made a speech about the youth leading us towards a better world, a more beautiful world. Calem couldn't have cared less about what he was saying. He was scanning the crowd, looking for them.

His eyes lit up as he caught sight of them. Tierno twirling around in celebration, nearly knocking poor, little Trevor over. Shauna was crying her eyes out, only being topped in the tears department by a young blonde boy beside her, waving a Calem sign. And there, at the front of the group was Serena. The young blonde had her hair tied up and was wearing the dress her mother normally reserved for her Rhyhorn race celebrations. The bright blue eyes shone brightly as she looked down at her friend, bursting with pride.

All Calem wanted was to race up the steps and be with his friends. He started to move towards them when suddenly he felt himself being lifted up. He turned around to see his beaming father lifting him onto his shoulders. Calem's mother was wiping away tears from her eyes as she beamed at the cameras. Suddenly, Calem became all too aware of the focus of the media. They quickly swarmed around him, snapping pictures of him and Larvitar.

Calem started to feel his tummy churning. He never liked this kind of thing at small tournaments, but this was far worse. There were so many people. He felt like he couldn't breathe. He glanced up at Serena, who gave him a reassuring smile, but the worry was still evident in her eyes. She gripped the end of her dress as her knuckles turned white. ' _Please,_ ' she thought, ' _please, just leave him alone._ '

"Xavier, Avril!" A purple haired reporter called out. "Malva of the Lumiose City Press. How do you feel about your son following in your footsteps? You've never beaten the Elite Four despite being in various regions; can Calem succeed where you didn't?"

"No doubt!" Xavier bellowed out, as Calem held onto his father's long black hair. There was a fire in his brown eyes as he spoke. "I've no doubt my boy will be Champion one day!"

"We're so proud of him!" Avril spoke, twirling her mousy-colored hair around her finger. "He'll go so far!"

"Yes!" Lysandre agreed, his eyes lighting up. "No doubt this boy has been chosen for great things."

"Calem! Calem! Calem!" The media swarmed around him. The flashing lights of the cameras. He couldn't see where his friends were anymore. His father let him down so he could talk to the media. Suddenly the large stadium felt so small. The entire building felt like it was trapping him in there with the reporters. ' _Where are they? Where's Larvy? I can't see anyone! Help! Help me!_ '

( _Ten Years Later_ )

"Calem. Calem. Please come out."

Serena sat on the roof outside her neighbour's window. The boy had become a shut-in in recent years, not wanting to expose himself to the outside world. Serena always climbed across from her window to his, every day to try reach her friend. She knocked gently on the window again to no avail. Serena sat down as she hugged her knees with her high black socks on close to her.

"Come on, Cal. Don't shut me out." She softly whispered as she tugged at the end of her red skirt.

Trevor looked on from below as he saw his friend's attempts once again. ' _Say what you want about her_ ', Trevor thought to himself, ' _but she doesn't give up. She's like clockwork. She's always making time to go see Calem, even when others gave up a long time ago._ '

"Serena at it again?" Shauna asked as she casually strolled up, Tierno trailing along after. "Why doesn't she just accept he's not coming out again?"

"You say that Shauna," Tierno interjected with a grin on his face, "but you still tag along every day. Plus, we all know you still bake cookies for him all the time."

Shauna went bright red as she lost her previous nonchalant, composure. "What?! No, I don't! How did you know?"

Trevor couldn't help but smile at his friend's antics. Despite everything that had changed over the years, he was glad that this was one thing that hadn't. He quickly turned his attention back to Serena.

"We really miss you, Cal." She spoke softly, leaning up against the window. "Please, just say something already."

"…..Something already."

A vein nearly popped in Serena's forehead as she proceeded to pound the window frame. "That's not what I meant, you smartass!"

Calem pulled back the curtain to look at his friend, staring directly into her eyes. The happy go, lucky boy, he had been was long gone. His eyes had turned a dull grey now. His face was rather gaunt and his skin was pale. He had grown taller but was very narrow. Uninterested, he lazily asked, "What is it you want, Serena?"

Serena was momentarily stunned that he pulled back his curtain. This was more than he had done in months. Quickly, she recovered, "I want you to come outside. Please, Calem, we miss having you around."

Calem looked down at the trio on the ground before averting his gaze. "I…..I can't go outside. It'd be bad for you guys…."

Serena's face softened as she saw how much her friend was hurting. "Please, Calem. We're just going to have coffee in Aquacorde Town. It's nothing major. No one will recognise you."

Calem looked to be struggling to find the right words to say. "…..I'd like to….but if the paparazzi found me…..it'd be bad for all of you….."

Serena smiled as she pulled out a red hat and a pair of sunglasses. "That's what these are for. No one will recognise you. I promise."

Calem locked eyes with her. Serena's thousand watt smile and the sincerity in her eyes were too much. "F-Fine….. I'll be down in five minutes…."

Calem quickly opened the window, grabbed the hat and sunglasses before disappearing behind his curtain again. Serena smiled as she made her way back to her friends. As much of a recluse as he could be, she knew that he wouldn't lie, not to her. He would be down in a few. She would just have to hope that no one would recognise him.

"W-Wow!" Tierno said, his jaw slack, "I can't believe you got him to come outside…. If only Larvy was here to see it….."

"Oi!" Serena barked, suddenly aggressive again. "Don't mention that. Or anything related to that. We don't need him disappearing again."

"S-Sorry, Siri! I promise I won't."

A few moments later, the door to Calem's house opened as he walked out. He was wearing a similar jacket to what he wore before, with black jeans and boots. The look was capped off by the hat and sunglasses Serena had given him. Even with his eyes concealed, Trevor could feel his eyes dart around the place, looking for people hiding in the shadows. Satisfied, he slowly walked towards them.

"Hey, guys." He weakly muttered.

Immediately, the group jumped on top of him, embracing him in a group hug. "Cal! You're finally out!"

Calem looked like he regretted his decision to leave his room. Eventually, when everyone let go of him, Serena wrapped her arms around his right arm. "What?" She said as he looked on at her confused, "I'm not giving you the chance to run off without us again."

Trevor watched Calem carefully as Serena led him in front of the group. The energy and enthusiasm he once had were gone. As much as they might all try ignoring it, Calem now was a shell of what he once was. He wasn't the same trainer that they had grown up idolising. He was much more reserved and low energy now. Luckily, Serena had become more bubbly since Calem retreated.

Calem awkwardly listened to Serena tell him all about Shauna, Tierno and Trevor's plans as he nodded along lazily. "What about you? Have you decided what to do? You've stopped training for being a Rhyhorn racer, right?"

Serena fell silent at that. "Yeah," she weakly muttered, "I've some plans…. But that's not important right now! How stylish do you look with those sunglasses and hat?"

Calem decided against picking up on the obvious change of subject. If Serena didn't want to tell him something, he wouldn't pry. That would be her business. The group made the short walk down Route 2 as they made their way to the local café in Aquacorde. Shauna and Tierno ordered their drinks for them, as the other three made their way to their usual spot. Trevor felt uncomfortable being face to face with Calem for so long. It had been a while since they had spoken with a door or window between them.

"Hey, Trevs…." Trevor looked up to see Calem sat across the table from him, looking uncomfortable. "I've never really said this before, so….uh…. Thanks for always bringing me some books to read. They were really interesting. I appreciated that….."

"You mean, you actually read them?" Trevor had always thought that Calem merely took them to be polite.

"Yeah, they were cool. I liked reading about type effectiveness and the Mythology of Kalos. They were a lot of fun."

Tierno and Shauna returned carrying the drinks as the conversation died off. The group made some small talks for a few moments before Tierno asked, "Trevor, don't you think it's time you tell Calem the exciting news?"

Calem turned his attention away from his coffee to the ginger-haired boy. "What news?"

"Uuuuhh….well, you see," Trevor stumbled about his words, searching for the right way to phrase this, "in recent months I've been working as a Junior Assistant to Professor Sycamore, the Kalos Regions Pokémon Professor. And he was interested in our group of friends and wanted to know if we could help with his research….."

"You I can get being helpful, you've always been interested in Pokémon research," Calem calmly stated, "but how can anyone else help? Tierno wants to form a Pokémon dance group, Shauna a Furfrou groomer and Serena hasn't decided yet." Serena flinched a little as Calem said this. Again he chose to ignore this.

"Well," Trevor said knowing the critical moment had arrived, "you guys can help with these." Trevor pulled out three cases with a Pokéball and Pokédex in each one. "He gave us Pokémon to raise to help in his studies."

"Me and Trevs were talking about it," Tierno said, "And we both have Pokémon already, my Crawdaunt and Trev's Ralts. Plus Shauna has Furfrou and Skitty. There's no point in us three being greedy so we want you and Serena to take these little guys."

"….No, I can't…" Calem said, lowering his head, "It'd better for them if they didn't have anything to do with me…it'd only cause them unnecessary bother…."

"Cal," Serena said softly, "don't you think it might be fun to go on an adventure with these guys?"

Calem sat silently for a moment. He had always loved being a trainer. Facing strong opponents, who he didn't know if he could beat and coming up with strategies to win made his heart race like nothing else. But all the pressure and attention that it put on those close to him and the expectations they then placed on him….. He couldn't subject any Pokémon to that again,

"I'm sorry, guys…..I can't….." Calem started to stand up when one of the Pokéballs started to move. Suddenly a small blue frog appeared out of the ball. The cute little frog looked up at Calem and locked eyes with the former Junior Champion. The boy felt his heart start to increase in pace as a rush of adrenaline ran through him at the thought of all the battles he could have with the Pokémon popped into his head.

"Seems like Froakie has taken a liking to you," Serena said smiling at the frog, "why don't you take him along with you."

Calem shook his head. "No, I can't. It's for the best. I know it."

Froakie's eyes were bright and hopeful. Just like Larvy's. Calem wasn't able to protect him. His father had to take responsibility for him. He couldn't be trusted with another Pokémon. Despite the immediate bond he felt with the Frog starter, he couldn't do it. He had to grow up and accept that he could never be a trainer again, not when it would just see his Pokémon get hurt.

With this, he ran off, back down Route 2. Serena jumped up and prepared to chase after him, but Tierno grabbed her hand. He slowly shook his head. "Cal made a lot of progress today. He came outside. If we push him too much, he'll just revert back to normal."

"But we can't let him just run off on his own like this. What if he gets into trouble?" Serena asked her eyes wide with concern for her friend.

"Don't worry, Siri," Shauna said, rather relaxed. "Looks like Froakie really likes him."

Serena turned to see the small frog hopping down Route 1 after Calem. Serena couldn't help, but smile. That Froakie wasn't going to let Calem run off without a fight. "Guess I should pick mine then, right?" She carefully selected one of the two remaining Pokéballs.

A small, orange/yellow fox appeared in front of her. "Hey, Fennekin. Do you want to be my partner?" The fox happily jumped onto her lap and started licking her face.

Serena couldn't help steal a glance down Vanville Pathway. She knew Calem would eventually see sense thanks to Froakie. If there was one thing he hated more than the media and attention, it was seeing a Pokémon hurting.

Calem rushed passed a blonde girl on roller-skates as he made his way back home. He didn't notice the red suit wearing man hiding behind the trees, who was staring at the egg on the girl's bag. He needed that egg to complete his mission. In the name of Team Flare, he would not fail.

 **{A/N}**

 **Hey. Thanks for reading. I haven't written anything in a few months, so I might be a bit rusty. This was just something that I wanted to do since I read the XY Manga. This is kind of a mix of the manga and the games. I really like the Gen 6 games, but there were some elements I wished were better explored. This is my first Pokémon story, so I'd appreciate any feedback. Feel free to tell me what ye guys would like to see, either in a review or a message. Hopefully, you'll enjoy the story. Thanks for reading again. Best wishes.**


	2. Calem's First Step

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. I'm just using characters, games, materials, etc for the purpose of this story.

 **Pokémon Z – The Kalos Chronicles**

 **Chapter Two**

Calem sat in the middle of his room, hiding underneath his duvet on the ground. His clothes were in a pile on the ground as he threw on his light blue pyjamas as soon as he got home. The curtains were pulled, leaving no light in. The former Champion sat there, deep in thought. He knew he shouldn't have ventured outside. The lure of adventure and the thrill of battling almost made him forget how scary the world could be. How scary the media was and how scary it was when he couldn't defend his Pokémon from the paparazzi. He couldn't ever let anyone suffer through that again, even if it meant that he never battled again.

There something about that Froakie though. Calem couldn't help but feel a desire to train alongside him. There was a spark in his eye that Calem had felt before. It was something he had felt when he was having so much fun competing back in the day. The thrill of winning, of coming up with strategies, of facing insurmountable odds and having all your hard work and efforts pay off.

A soft thud on his bedroom window snapped Calem out of his thoughts. The sound happened again and again. ' _Guess_ _Serena is here to talk to me again_ ,' he thought to himself, ' _I owe her an explanation I guess._ '

He pulled back the curtain expecting to see Serena in her usual spot outside but instead came face to face with a small blue frog. "Fro!" He yelled before grabbing more of his frubbles and throwing that at the window again.

"What are you doing?" Calem asked, recovering from his initial shock. "I can't be your trainer. You should see if one of the others will be your trainer instead. I can't."

This just seemed to anger the frog. "Froakie!" he yelled, before flinging more frubbles at the window.

Calem just sighed. "Fine, be like that then. I'm just going back to bed." Closing the curtain, Calem sat back down on the ground. "He'll get the hint eventually and go away. Just have to wait him out."

After a few minutes, the noise stopped. Calem smiled a sad but relived smile. As much fun as training that Froakie would have been, this was for the best. He would go find a trainer who could properly raise him and protect him. Getting up to check the window, Calem fell backward at the sight outside his window before he rose to his feet to check his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

The entire roof was covered with frubbles as Froakie stood there making a snowman out of some of it. The sight was so bizarre that Calem couldn't help but almost chuckle at the Pokémon's antics. The water starter looked up into time and locked eyes with the teen. Calem dropped down out of sight. He couldn't let Froakie see him laugh. That would give the poor Pokémon some false hope.

Calem hid underneath his windowsill for a few moments. Something compelled him to check back in on the Pokémon again. He lifted his head up to see the roof empty of any Pokémon. He stood up fully smiling that Froakie finally gave up. What he didn't expect was to see the frog making snow angels in the frubbles on the ground. This time Calem couldn't hold in his laugh. He had to lean on the window for support, accidentally pushing it open.

Seizing this opportunity, Froakie hopped up onto his feet and jumped in the window before Calem could react. The boy turned quickly to see his visitor sit on the ground beside his blanket. He couldn't help but smile ruefully. ' _Well played, Froakie_ ,' he thought, ' _well played._ '

Serena stood out in the front yard of her house watching the scene with a smile. It had been the first time Calem had laughed in years. It felt like there was a massive weight slowly being lifted off her chest. This Froakie might finally get Calem out of his shell and back to the trainer he once was. Moving on, she made her way to her house, softly scratching the resting Fennekin in her arms behind the ears.

When she pushed open the front, she saw her mother working on that evening's dinner. She briefly looked up from the pot she was gently stirring. "Oh. Hi, sweetie."

"Hey, mother," Serena replied. There was an awkward silence in the room. "So, this is my new partner Fennekin. I got her from Professor Sycamore."

Her mother, Grace the famous Rhyhorn race, looked up properly this time. "Oh, well isn't she a cutie! So, you're going to become a Pokémon trainer then?"

Serena knew where this was heading. "Mother, can we please not do this again? Not tonight."

Grace started scowling. "What do you mean? I'm just asking you a question?"

Serena took off her hat and placed it on the counter. "It's never just a question with you though. We both know what you're really trying to say."

Grace stopped stirring the pot on the ring at that. She turned and faced her daughter fully know. "Is it so bad that your mother is worried about your future and your lack of direction so far?"

"See?" Serena shot back, "This is all about me not wanting to become a Rhyhorn racer like you."

"Well, what do you plan to do instead?" Grace yelled red in the face with anger.

"I-I'm working on it…" Serena weakly offered in response, "You wouldn't understand…."

The argument settled down and the two ate their dinner in an awkward silence. As soon as Serena finished, she went up to her room. She collapsed on her bed after she set Fennekin down gently beside her bed. She knew what she wanted to do, but how could she tell her mother? It would completely crush her. Serena didn't get along the best with her mother, always feeling pressured into following in her footsteps as a Rhyhorn racer, but she didn't want to hurt her either.

How could she explain that she wanted to be a Sky Trainer? This was a class of trainer that looked down heavily on Rhyhorn racers. They saw them as "crawling around on the dirt where they belonged". It would devastate her mother to hear that her own daughter wanted to join this snooty bunch after she worked so hard to make Rhyhorn racing so respectable in both the Sinnoh and Kalos Regions.

She looked out her window at Calem's window. There was a light on in his room, casting his silhouette against the curtain. She remembered a conversation that she had with him when he first moved in. Even as a small child, he knew what it was he wanted and how to inspire others to follow their dreams. She really hoped Froakie could find that person she knew was still there, deep down.

Calem was sitting down on the ground, watching Froakie hop around the place. ' _Can this guy every just stay still for a minute?_ '

The energetic frog Pokémon had been a non-stop bundle of energy since he got into Calem's room. Jumping from desk to shelf, he was clearly showing off his athleticism. Calem quickly deduced the two key reasons for his actions. One, he wanted to try to impress Calem enough with his skill to convince him to be his trainer. The second was to try to get Calem to laugh again. This Pokémon was apparently a real clown.

Calem felt a strong connection to the frog Pokémon, even before he visited him. As much as he tried to fight the urge, he couldn't stop thinking of cool strategies and battle plans to use alongside the Pokémon. However, Calem knew that it would be selfish of him to the Pokémon involved with him. The paparazzi would never leave him alone if he did. It wouldn't be fair on Froakie.

BBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!

A sudden shock erupted from nowhere. Judging from the fact it came from behind Calem's house, he guessed something happened on Route 1. Froakie stopped needlessly jumping around and came to a stop on Calem's shoulder. He looked him dead in his eyes, completely focused. He kept pointing out the window, indicating the fact he wanted to investigate. Calem was also curious, rushing down the stairs and running to the gateway.

Darkness has started to settle down over Vanville Town as the sun had set. The normal calm air of the peaceful town was suddenly thick with tension. Various Flying-type Pokémon could be seen flying overhead, while several Bunnelbys were scampering out of the grass. ' _What in the name of the Llama God Arceus just happened here?_ '

"Cal!"

The black haired trainer turned to face his friends who were rushing towards him. Trevor was completely wrapped up in a futon, making it a wonder he didn't trip up. Shauna was wearing a pink frilly dressing gown, her hair down out of her signature pigtails. Tierno was in a vest and shorts, looking like he had been dancing when he heard the noise. Serena gracefully leaped down from her bedroom window to meet them, wearing a little purple sleeveless hoodie and pink shorts, with a pink ribbon tying her hair back from her face.

"What's going on?" Trevor asked, "I was just reading through Professor Rowan's latest publication as a bit of fun, light reading when I heard an explosion."

"Wait! Light reading?" Shauna asked perplexed, "How do you consider that stuff to be light reading?"

Calem shook his head. "Forget it. One mystery at a time. It seemed like the explosion came from Route 1."

"Then we better check it out," Serena said as she took off running down the pathway.

"Serena!" Tierno yelled at her, "Wait up for us!"

The group chased after her, Froakie leading the group. After a few moments, they came to the sight of the explosion. Thick black clouds were surrounding the trees, rising from a blackened hole in the ground. Serena was making her way over there to check on a figure in the clouds. Froakie leaped in front of her, to make sure no one could sneak attack her in the darkness.

As the clouds started to disappear, two figures came into focus. A blue and black bipedal Pokémon was gingerly on one knee, slowly trying to get to his feet. Behind him was a petite, blonde girl. She was wearing a white t-shirt and skirt, her look was completed with rollerblades and a helmet. Quickly, she rushed forwards to check on her Pokémon, who was rather unsteady and looked like it might collapse at any time.

"Lucario!" she yelled out.

Quickly the group made their way over. Calem went to check on the hurt Lucario, hating to see the Pokémon suffering. Serena checked the blonde girl for injuries. Besides, a few cuts and small bruises she was OK. It appeared that the Lucario had taken most of the impact. Trevor was scanning the area and found bits of mud splattered around the place, it must have been from the blast.

"T-Thanks for the help and everything…" the blonde muttered, coughing slightly, "but we can't wait around here."

Tierno gasped once he got a look at the girl's face. "Y-Y-You're Korrina, right?"

Serena looked back at Tierno with confusion, "You mean the Korrina? As in the Shalour City Gym Leader? But what would you be doing so far away from your gym?"

"That's me," Korrina replied, stumbling forward. "I'll answer your questions later. I have to hurry. A thief stole one of my Pokémon eggs."

Calem's attention immediately switched to Korrina. "What? What way did he go?" Korrina weakly raised her hand and pointed in the direction of Aquacorde Town. Calem took off sprinting without another word. Froakie chased after his desired trainer. The former Junior Champion wouldn't let any Pokémon get hurt while he could do something about it. He'd find the thief.

"Come on, Calem!" Serena yelled after him, giving chase. "Don't go running off on your own like this. We should stick together. After all, we don't even know what the thief looks like."

"Ha. Letting a bunch of kids bail me out like this. Hardly the most glamorous look for a Gym Leader." Korrina ran after the two, taking a moment to yell back at Lucario, "Don't worry, I'll make that red suit weirdo pay."

Calem quickly made his way to Aquacorde Town. He started shifting his eyes around in every direction as he ran to the centre of town. All of a sudden, he bumped into a tall man, knocking the cups he was carrying onto the ground. The burly man yelled in frustration.

"Oi. Watch it, kid." Calem recognised him as the owner of the local Inn. "I needed those lattés for a special guest!"

"Sorry, I'll pay you back later," Calem shouted as he took off running again. He made his way to the opposite side of the Town square when something caught his eye.

Just before the bridge to Route 2, Calem saw a man in a red suit pass on under a street lamp. Beside him, was a large Diggersby. What was interesting to Calem though was what was in the Diggersby's ear/hand: a Pokémon egg. No doubt about it, it was the thief.

"Hey, thief!" Calem yelled. "Stop!"

The man in the red suit turned around, "Do you honestly think yelling at me to stop will make me stop?"

"You just did!" Serena replied, making up the ground between her and Calem. "Along with being unstylish, you're not very bright are you?"

"What did you say about Team Flare's suit?" The man's face turned as red as the suit at the insult. "Diggersby! I think we have to teach this brat some respect."

Serena took out the Pokéball from her pocket. "Go, Fennekin." The small yellow fox appeared before her. Froakie jumped in front of Calem in a similar manner.

"We have to be careful here." Calem whispered to Serena, "That Diggersby is still holding the egg. We can't cause him to drop it."

"Good point." Serena nodded along, "Me and Fennekin will focus on distracting Diggersby. You and Froakie focus on getting the egg back."

"Like I'll lose to a couple of brats!" The Team Flare Grunt yelled. Diggersby! Mud Shot!"

"Fennekin! Dodge it and hit back with ember!" The small fox evaded, barely avoiding the dirt landing on her fur, before shooting off a small spark of fire. Diggersby recoiled from the heat, picking up a slight burn on its left ear-arm.

"Keep him on the back foot, Froakie, with bubbles!" Calem yelled. The small frog jumped out of the dust that rose up from the Mud Shot. Diggersby was unable to track his movements and took the burst of bubbles head on.

"Damn it!" Flare muttered, realising the situation he found himself in, "That Froakie is fast and Diggersby used up most of his energy fighting Lucario…. Even that fight he only won with a sneak attack…. I have to think of a way out of this…. It's tough for Diggersby to fight while holding the egg…"

"Fennekin, follow up with Tackle!" The small fox rushed recklessly into battle with the much bigger Pokémon.

"Quick, use Dig!" Diggersby tossed the egg back to the Flare Grunt to catch, before burrowing into the ground. Fennekin came to a halt, confused where its opponent disappeared to.

Calem immediately seized the opportunity to act. "Froakie, shoot a constant stream of bubbles down there." After this, he rushed at the Grunt hoping to catch him off guard. Running across the battlefield, Calem dove at the man as Diggersby popped back up struggling to stand. The man dodged as he stood on the edge of the bridge, holding the egg close to his chest.

"Damn it….. I didn't expect to be run into a corner like this…" He mumbled under his breath, glancing over his shoulder to see the steady stream of the river. "I know the Leader wants the egg and all, but it's better to have a tactical retreat….."

"You won't get away that easy!" Calem yelled, picking himself back up off the ground. He moved closer to the Grunt before he suddenly held the egg over the edge.

"Not another step or I drop this egg, brat!"

Calem immediately froze. Behind him, he could feel Serena do the same although Diggersby was also stationary. "That's right. Don't get any funny ideas, Hero." The man held out his Pokéball, "Diggersby return. Now here's how this is gonna go…."

Without warning, the man let go of the egg and ran. Calem ran up to the ledge and jumped after the egg. He couldn't let the Pokémon be hurt. He had to protect it no matter the cost. Grabbing the egg, Calem pulled it in close to his chest before his back broke the fall and he was dragged under the water.

"Calem!" Serena shrieked, running to the edge to dive in after him when she found herself being held back by Tierno, "Let me go. I have to save him."

"Siri! Calm down." Tierno shouted, slightly muffled by the flailing fist hitting him in the face. "We have to be calm and try sort this out."

Calem's head popped back up as he started being carried downwards by the stream. He was still clutching the egg close to his chest. Gasping for breath, he struggled to keep afloat and hold onto the egg. He had to think of a plan quickly. He looked up the stream to see a series of rocks sticking out of the water. If he wasn't careful, he'd bash into all of those rocks. The egg would be destroyed and he could be injured.

"Think! Think! Think!" He yelled out loud hoping for an idea. Looking back at the bridge, he saw his friends and all their Pokémon watching him. Serena was relentlessly trying to escape Tierno's grip, Shauna silently praying and Trevor frantically looking through one of his note books. The stones were getting closer and closer with every passing second.

' _This is a sticky situation alright._ ' Calem thought to himself, ' _Wait! Sticky! Of course!_ ' "Froakie, on the count of three, throw some of your frubbles at me!" The small frog frowned slightly, clearly confused by Calem's strange order, "Trust me. One….. Two… Three!"

Froakie threw bits of frubbles at Calem, who quickly raised one of his arms. The frubbles attached itself to it and bound his arm to the first rock. The former Junior Champion flinched as his arm hit the rock; however, it kept him attached and afloat. Calem tightened his grip on the egg to keep it secure when cracks started to form. Slowly, the egg started shaking. A glowing light appeared around the egg as a small Rilou popped his head up, out of the egg.

"Hey there, little guy." Calem softly whispered, not wanting to scare him. "Everything will be just fine. Hold tight someone will save us." The small Pokémon locked eyes with Calem before he gave a nod and grabbed onto Calem's shirt.

Right on cue, two long, slimy arms gently wrapped themselves around the teen. The Vanville trainer looked up to see a Goodra reaching over to pick him up. The frubbles gently came off as the slimy Dragon Pokémon lifted Calem out of the water and carried him back to the bridge. There were two more figures on the bridge now. Korrina, and a purple haired lady wearing a large white coat and sunglasses.

As soon as Goodra let Calem down, Serena pulled him in for a hug. "Jeez, what were you thinking doing something so reckless?" She muttered, burying her face in his chest, "You could have been hurt…. or worse."

' _Too close!_ ' Calem thought as he felt his cheeks go red. "S-sorry. I didn't really think things through. I just acted."

"Well, well. What a scene we have here." The purple haired lady teased, smiling at the sight of the two teens embracing. "If the cute couple is done, we have the matter of the Rilou to deal with, right?"

"C-Couple?" Serena stammered, pulling her head back to look at Calem.

"That's the part you focus on, Siri?" Shauna sighed, looking exasperated.

"Right," Calem mumbled, clearly uncomfortable with the attention on him. He awkwardly escaped Serena's hug before staggering to his feet. Rilou was still holding onto his arm. "Here's you Pokémon." He murmured holding his arms out to Korrina.

The blonde smiled as she gently picked up Rilou. The little black paw of his was reluctant to let go of Calem's arm. Slowly, he released and turned to look at the beaming face of the Shalour City Gym Leader. "Thanks, Calem. You really helped me out here."

Calem started pulling his fringe down, shifting his feet as he looked at the ground. "No problem. I didn't do much."

Tierno threw his arm around his friend. "You were so cool, Cal. It was like you were Red from that episode of Adventures."

"You certainly have some talent as a trainer with that Froakie of yours," Korrina commented.

"He's not mine," Calem mumbled. "And I'm not a trainer. Not anymore….."

The purple haired lady removed her sunglasses as she looked at him.

"You wouldn't happen to be the Calem who was once Junior Champion, would you?" Her light purple eyes analysed him as she saw her answer on the boys face. "You had a real talent as a trainer. It's a shame you quit."

Calem flinched at her words. "Not like I had much of a choice."

"There's always a choice." The ladies voice was friendly, but stern like a scolding mother. "I know your story. You can't let other make you give up something that you love. Not without a real fight."

"You think I didn't fight?" Calem snapped back, glaring at the woman.

"I think others forced your hand." She retorted. "I can sense your love for Pokémon. You wouldn't have risked your life for Rilou if you didn't. This Froakie clearly believes in you and wants you to be its trainer. You still have that fire burning inside of you, no matter how deep down in your chest you hide it. Do you deny the thrill of battle?"

Calem merely lowered his head. He knew the answer. He knew he wanted to be a trainer.

"Then listen up." The lady's entire presence changed around her. "I'm challenging you. Fight for your dreams. Become a trainer who fights alongside his Pokémon. Become someone who is worthy to face the Elite Four. Then once you've done this, I will face you. I will face you at my full power as Champion. That's my challenge. Do you accept?" She held out her hand.

An awestruck silence fell over the group as they realised who they were talking to. The Champion. The Movie Star. The one and only Diantha.

Calem felt a fire burn inside his chest. A fire he hadn't felt in a long time. It was a feeling he had taken for granted. He glanced over at his friends. In his head, the media and paparazzi no longer hide them from view. He could see his friends once again. Tierno and Shauna were giving eager thumbs up. Trevor was a stunned silence. Serena was gave a single nod, trying to hold back a smile and tears. Froakie was anxiously looking at Calem.

Finally, Calem could feel a light at the end of the tunnel. He reached out and shook Diantha's hand. His journey was finally starting.

 **{A/N}**

 **Hey. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. Thanks to anyone who favourited, followed or reviewed this story. I appreciate any reviews so I can tell what's working and what isn't. I didn't want Calem to come across as edgy or too much of a loner, but his manga counterpart is really depressed and reserved at the start of the story, so I wanted to capture that. Let me know if you have any suggestions for the Pokémon names or anything. Thanks for reading. Best wishes.**


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